South Africa leads as 17 African companies make Forbes list of world’s largest firms

For the 23rd consecutive year, Forbes has released its Global 2000 ranking, highlighting the world’s largest and most influential publicly traded companies, with South Africa accounting for the majority of Africa’s entries.

• Forbes released its 23rd Global 2000 ranking of the world's largest publicly traded companies in 2025.
• A total of 17 African companies are on the list, with South Africa leading the entries.
• South Africa dominated the African representation with firms across finance, tech, mining, chemicals, and more.

In 2025, a total of 17 African companies made the Forbes Global 2000 ranking, dominated by South Africa with 14 entries, followed by Morocco with 2 and Egypt with 1.

Per Forbes, the 2025 Global 2000 companies collectively account for $52.9 trillion in revenue, $4.9 trillion in profits, $242.2 trillion in assets, and a $91.3 trillion market capitalization.

Notably, despite global economic challenges such as renewed U.S. trade tensions, these companies achieved record-breaking figures across all four key metrics: revenue, profit, assets, and market value; showcasing remarkable resilience.

17 African countries ranked within the global top 2,000:

RANK	Company	Country	Sector	New Gains
1	FirstRand	South Africa	Banking	$2.26 B
2	Standard Bank Group	South Africa	Banking	$2.39 B
3	Naspers	South Africa	IT software & Services	$3.31 B
4	Sanlam	South Africa	Insurance	$1.21 B
5	Absa Group	South Africa	Banking	$1.17 B
6	Attijariwafa Bank	Morocco	Banking	$956 M
7	Nedbank	South Africa	Banking	$926.6 M
8	Old Mutual	South Africa	Insurance	$418.2 M
9	Gold Fields	South Africa	Materials	$ 1.24 B
10	AngloGold Ashanti	South Africa	Materials	$1 B
11	MTN group	South Africa	Telecom Services	$-523.2 M
12	CAPITEC	South Africa	Insurance	$659.1 M
13	International Commercial Bank	Egypt	Banking	$1.1 B
14	Momentum Metropolitan Holdings	South Africa	Insurance	$271.4 M
15	Sasol	South Africa	Chemicals	$ -2.69 B
16	Banque Centrale Populaire	Morocco	Banking	$416.9 M
17	Bid	South Africa	Hotels, Restaurants & Leisures	$433.3 M

Africa's representation on the Forbes Global 2000 list may be modest, but there's no doubting its economic influence is steadily growing within and beyond the continent.

This is evident in the diverse range of companies featured, from established multinationals to emerging tech and financial powerhouses.

South Africa has once again cemented its dominance in Africa’s corporate landscape, with the majority of the continent’s representatives in the 2025 Forbes Global 2000 list.

Out of the 17 African firms that made the cut, 14 are based in South Africa, spanning sectors such as banking, insurance, telecommunications, mining, and chemicals.

Leading South Africa’s presence are FirstRand, Standard Bank, and Naspers, reflecting the country’s strength in finance and tech.

Morocco follows distantly with two companies, Attijariwafa Bank and Banque Centrale Populaire, while Egypt’s Commercial International Bank (CIB) is the only North African entrant outside Morocco.

The exclusion of Nigerian companies from the ranking is concerning. Despite hosting major oil and industrial giants, Nigeria’s low number of publicly listed large-cap firms and weak presence in global financial benchmarks limit its corporate visibility, even as Africa’s most populous nation.

Olamilekan Okebiorun

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